Furuno Radar?

[murf]

Rhys,



It has got me though some pretty ordinary situations when out at night in the pitch black, one recent one was finding the entrance to the Lady Musgrave lagoon when the wind came up unexpectedly. Yes I could see the entrance on the plotter but it was the radar picking up the unlit markers that showed me that the narrow entrance wasn't actually where the GPS plotter was telling me it was.



- Darren

I will vouch for this one Rhys, I was amazed watching what Darren could do going into the lagoon with Dieter close behind, when it became dark and the wind picked up I thought I was in for a long (sick) night but Darrens unit and skill of use made it possible to navigate through an area he has never seen before showing marker posts and all the boats moored in the lagoon.

It was also good when we wanted to head back over to another boat (Dieter) during the daylight as we could get a fix on them from a distance on the radar and then just head straight to them

I also could read the screen without my specs on which is a big bonus, very clear and large enough to have heaps of info up at a time

cheers Murf

[Mr__Bean]

I might just take you up on that offer Darren.

I've wondered about the C80. I've heard they are a pretty good all round unit. How do you find the GPS & Sounder? Are you running a transom mounted transducer or a through hull? 600w or 1kw?

I've been very happy with the 172C Garmin GPS, accuracy of the map and ease of use. The DS500x is a good sounder. Gives good returns and is easy to use. I mostly run it in auto but I would like to get a bit more flexibility in the ease of use of the gain and was thinking of changing to a 585 furuno sounder for that reason alone.

I've been having some issues with the sounder signals since putting the f200 on. The trim has changed and the boat rides higher in the bum with the extra torque so I'm not quite sure what is going on. It isn't the units fault. I may need to relocate another transducer to the side of the keel.

I know they aren't a cheap unit, but I'm certainly considering all options

Cheers

Rhys

To be quite honest I would much rather have a seperate sounder unit that one that is integrated with the plotter / radar etc.

Sure it is cheaper to have the single unit but I find it is a bit fiddly to keep selecting which image you wish to view and then re-adjust the settings etc. Unless you go for the C120 whereby you could run the split screen much better than you can when you split an 8 inch screen.

If I had the space on the dash I would love to have high quality digital sounder and then a seperate unit for the plotter with radar overlay.

I find if you are coming in through a tight entrance and the water if rough, you need to have a clear view of your plotter to get onto your lead, you also need to keep an eye on how much water you have under you, all at a time when you can't afford to take your eyes off the water. In these situations you can't afford to be fiddling around with the electronics.

Mine is standard P66 transom transducer, for me it holds bottom very well at good speed and gives very good image for the depths that I fish.

- Darren

[russ81]

Hows it going guys

Great thread guys that has got me interested im a rada when i upgrade my electronics